Alan Pardew fears Ba exit

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has confessed that there is not much he can do to keep Demba Ba at the club.

The Senegal international has been heavily linked with a move away from the Premier League outfit, with his much reported buy-out clause tempting the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

It is thought that a fee in the region of £7m will allow Ba to leave St James’ Park, and Pardew admitted that if such a bid is received, the decision will be entirely down to the player himself:

“It’s unfortunate that the contract he has leaves open a lot of questions because we have this clause and every window that comes around, I have to answer the same questions.

“It would be disappointing for him to leave in this window for this club and for his team-mates here, but the decision will be his, ultimately, because that clause is there.

“The most important things we have got with Demba is he is someone who is a goalscorer and he is scoring goals, and that’s very, very important to a side. His commitment to and work-rate for the team, I don’t fault.”

Ba was critical of the Magpies’ current tactics in an interview with Canal+, but Pardew insists that no disciplinary action will be taken against him:

“It was quoted in England not correctly, and that’s unfair on Demba and unfair on us.

“There will be no disciplinary procedure against him. There was one procedural matter where he could have informed us and should have, really, but that’s neither here nor there.”